Owl was resting on a crumbled bit of railing with his eyes closed and head tucked down against his shoulders. His wings were pulled against him tightly and his feathers fluffed out, wrapping him in a cocoon of quiet warmth . His horn-feathers twitched as he heard voices approaching. NiGHTS voice was easily recognized but the one he was conversing with certainly did not sound like the visitor he'd taken out earlier. Owl opened his eyes and shook himself out a bit, looking into the woods, from which was coming a soft glowing light and a peculiar, resonant voice that tickled at Owl's memory.

He crooned curiously and abandoned his perch, crossing the courtyard to meet the pair that was immerging from the trees. 'Owl!' NiGHTS said when he spotted him, glancing around and seeming faintly surprised to be back at the Dream Gate.

'My goodness, NiGHTS, you certainly have found most august company tonight!' Owl said and smiled at the glowing, white unicorn. 'Auloris, you are looking quite well indeed!'

'Thank you, Owl, as are you,' Auloris replied with a small bow of her head and a warm smile. 'I discovered your pupil in a bit of difficulty this evening and decided to intervene.'

'Most generous of you.' Owl raised a brow-ridge at NiGHTS momentarily before looking back at Auloris, a strange mix of curiosity, fondness and apprehension bubbling within him. 'I must admit, I am quite shocked to see you out and about again.'

'You know each other?' NiGHTS asked, drifting over and slowly circling them both. 'You've never mentioned her, Owl...'

'My dear, if I were to tell you everyone I had ever known and everything I had ever done, well, it would take me as long to tell you as it did to happen in the first place,' Owl chuckled. 'I have not seen Auloris since quite some time before I met you.'

'Hmmm!' NiGHTS gave him a suspicious look. 'Why didn't you tell me that the Nightopians were babies?'

Owl gave him a calculated blank-look. '"Baby" is not quite the word I would use,' Owl said carefully. 'The creatures we commonly see in the visitors' Nightopias are undeveloped Nightopians, much like a Cuddle or a Shleep is an undeveloped Nightmare. Some of them may grow a sense of identity and individuality over time and "grow up," but most will simply remain as they are.' Owl glanced back at Auloris for a moment, her head was canted slightly to the side and she gave him a curious look. 'I suppose that I simply never thought to address it,' Owl said quietly, returning his eyes to NiGHTS. 'It seemed so obvious to me as to be unimportant.'

'... Well I didn't know...' NiGHTS grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting.

'Then I apologize for the confusion.' Owl gave him a nod. Auloris coughed softly and Owl looked back at her again. 'NiGHTS, I wonder if you might give Auloris and me a few minutes to catch up.' NiGHTS' pout took on new levels of poutiness, but he complied by taking off into the air and furiously practicing his pareloops above the canopy.

'It is good to see you well,' Auloris said, walking slowly onto the cobbles of the courtyard.

'Likewise,' Owl agreed, following her. 'But I can't help but wonder what has inspired you to reveal yourself after all this time.'

'... Have you not felt the shift?' Auloris whispered, casting him an intense, blue gaze. 'The forests and valleys are stronger than they have been in eons. Children are everywhere, playing and singing in plain sight of the 'maren.'

'It is progress, but it is not yet enough, Auloris. If you were seen, if Wizeman knew that you were still alive-- '

'I'm sure that he does by now,' Auloris interjected. 'I told you that I assisted NiGHTS tonight. He had been captured by the one called Reala.'

Owl stared at her quietly for a while, a sinking feeling in his stomach. 'Did you kill him?'

'Of course not!' Auloris snapped, glaring back.

Owl studied the sudden defensive anger that had come over Auloris' countenance at the suggestion and closed his eyes, sighing. 'Then you know who he is, I take it?'

'... NiGHTS' twin...' Auloris replied quietly, turning her head away.

Owl watched her silently a few moments longer and then sighed again. 'By now it is almost certain that Wizeman knows about you.'

'Yes.'

'Damn your impatience, Auloris!' Owl snarled, rage suddenly rising unbidden within him. 'I've been so careful! Do you even understand what you've done? You have provoked Wizeman and now we will loose NiGHTS! What were you thinking?!'

Auloris turned her eyes back on him, a look of reproach and defiance in them. 'Perhaps he is more capable than you give him credit for. He has done much in a short span of time, more than we could. You're underestimating him.'

'You are being reckless!'

'I'm tired of waiting! I'm tired of hiding like a coward!' Auloris stomped her hoof and shook her head. 'And you, you use him like a tool and hide the truth from him! It's despicable, Owl!'

'I do no such thing!' Owl protested, puffing himself up in offence. 'I am merely protecting him until he is ready!'

'That night will never come if you are the judge!' Auloris snapped. 'Anyway, what's done is done. The past can not be changed, what we must do now is prepare for Wizeman's retaliation.' She turned her head up towards the sky and called out, 'NiGHTS! Come down here, please!'

In hardly a breath, NiGHTS had zoomed back down towards them and bobbed up a few inches from the ground, looking bright. Owl narrowed his eyes at Auloris, nervous and suspicious, wondering just what she intended to tell him.

'I'm afraid that I've put you in danger,' Auloris said, lowering her head a bit in apology.

NiGHTS blinked, looking surprised and then grinned and shrugged. 'I was already in plenty of trouble all on my own! I don't think it's a big deal, I mean, I've been on Wizeman's bad-list for a while now.'

'NiGHTS,' Owl said, clicking his beak nervously. 'What you don't understand is that Wizeman has been under the impression that Auloris died quite some time ago. He will not be pleased to know that she's still alive.'

NiGHTS frowned, looking back and forth between them. 'But then wouldn't it be Auloris who's in trouble? Isn't he going to start looking for her now?'

'That will be one of his priorities, yes.' Auloris nodded. 'But it may also concern him that it is because of you that I am confident enough to show myself... You have been making a great difference in the Night Dimension, NiGHTS, and Wizeman will not be able to ignore that now.'

'You're no longer a simple annoyance to him, NiGHTS,' Owl added. 'I fully anticipate that Wizeman is going to become much more serious in putting an end to your rebellion.'

'But...' NiGHTS mumbled, his face taking on a worried expression. 'What am I supposed to do? I can't just hide or something, I have to keep fighting him! Nothing's gonna get fixed if I run away! I want to see Mother!'

'You're absolutely correct, NiGHTS,' Auloris answered, stepping forward and nuzzling his face. 'We can no longer afford to run... That is why I am going to give you something. Hold out your hands please.'

She was going to give him a spell? It would be a help, Owl knew, but he doubted it would be enough. He watched as NiGHTS cupped his hands in front of him, staring with wide-eyed curiosity as Auloris lowered her head, placing her horn inches above his waiting hands, and closed her eyes.

Her horn sweated little drops of light that rolled down and formed a fist-sized pearl at the tip. After a moment, the pearl of light dropped off the end of Auloris' horn and sank into NiGHTS' hands, soaking in like they were a sponge. NiGHTS jerked a little in surprise and then examined his hands, which appeared unchanged, as Auloris straightened up.

'I hope that will help to protect you. If you find yourself in danger, do not hesitate to call for me. I will come.' She pressed her nose to NiGHTS cheek again and then turned.

'You're leaving?' NiGHTS asked; he looked disappointed.

'I should return to Nightopia, to look after the little ones,' she replied, smiling softly at him and then nodding to Owl and offering him a smile as well. 'Good night. I'm sure that we shall see much more of each other in the future.'

'Good night, Auloris,' Owl said, bowing his head to her and resting himself on a perch.

'Good night, Owl,' Auloris nodded over her shoulder and walked into the trees, soon disappearing, despite the fact that the woodland around the Gate was not at all thick.

'Good night!' NiGHTS called after her, waving his hand in the air.

...

'He's probably at the Dream Gate,' Reala said as he glided out of the castle.

'Unless he's not, of course,' Jackle offered, flying up-side-down and looking up at Reala with a cheeky grin.

'It's the sensible place to start,' Reala snapped.

'Good luck with that then.' The corners of Jackle's lips curled up a bit higher. 'Do you really think you can take NiGHTS and the old bird by yourself?'

Reala blinked, stilling in the air, and then cast a glare down at the mostly-invisible 'maren. 'What?'

'I can't go to the Dream Gate, remember?' Jackle reminded him, stretching lazily.

Reala grimaced in irritation, both at the fact that he had forgotten and at Jackle's absurd limitation. He growled and then turned a circle, opening a small portal. 'Fine. Wait here while I check. It's better to eliminate the possibility rather than wasting effort.

'Right. You be sensible, I'll be lazy. Suits me,' Jackle chuckled behind him as Reala slipped through into a small ravine that was well out of site of the gates.

He sunk into the shadows of the woodland and skimmed silently through the air towards the gates, listening intently for voices or NiGHTS' music. There was none, and as he approached the clearing and looked it over from the cover of the trees, he could see the Owl sitting on one of its perches, looking as though it were napping.

Reala circled once, carefully staying beyond the tree line, and couldn't find the barest hint of his twin's presence, and so he veered back into the forest and then turned in a tight knot in the air, slipping through a portal back to where he'd left Jackle.

Jackle gave him an obnoxious grin and a wave. 'Any luck?'

'He's not there.' Reala closed his eyes and turned slowly in the air. After a moment, he stopped, and opened his eyes again, staring out in the direction that he'd ended up facing. 'This way,' he said and started off again.

...

Alison liked playing ring chase, although she played it more like tag than follow-the-leader. They'd caught Octopaw three times and received several face-fulls of ink in the process. Octopaw had finally gotten fed-up with the game and attached himself to their arm, giving them a nasty bite. After that, Alison wasn't so charmed by the little blue dream-creature, and they'd taken to aimless touring of the Nightopia.

What happens to Nightopia when I wake up? Alison asked as they glided past a giant stone head, half-buried in the mossy ground.

'It changes,' NiGHTS replied with a shrug. 'Moves around, turns into someone else's Nightopia.'

And the Nightopians are all still there?

NiGHTS tilted their head to the side a bit, considering the question. 'Some of them, I guess. There are always Nightopians, but they'll have different names and things from dream to dream.'

But what happens to my Nightopians? Alison asked, sounding distressed.

'You can dream them again. So I suppose they stay with you.'

Alison worried their lip with their teeth, seeming anxious. None of them stay here?

'Well "here" doesn't stay here,' NiGHTS countered. 'Nightopias change all the time. That's what makes them interesting.'

That seems so unstable... What about you? You're not going to disappear, are you NiGHTS?

'No, I'll be here!' NiGHTS giggled and twisted around in the air playfully. 'You're not the only one who dreams about me. When a lot of people dream the same thing, it starts to get real!'

Really? Alison asked, their eyes widening a bit.

'Absolutely! Everything that's real starts as a dream, y'know!'

I hadn't--

'Look out!' NiGHTS shouted, swerving in the air to avoid a harlequin-checked two of spades zinging towards them. He dodged the first card but didn't see the second one until it sliced through his side. They yelped together. 'Argh! Jackle! What do you want!' NiGHTS demanded when he righted himself and spotted the caped Nightmaren.

Jackle grinned back up at him, sharp teeth and bright eyes glinting from the shadows of his hat. 'Oh, I'm just helping. I'm very helpful, you know,' he replied.

'What's that supposed to--' NiGHTS started just before something crashed into he and Allison's back very hard and slammed them into the ground.

Owwww! Alison whined. That's not fair! What happened?

Their collision had created a small crater in the soft moss and NiGHTS didn't have time to struggle himself into an upright position before he felt their arm being yanked up behind their back painfully. 'If you let go of your little friend now, I promise not to drop it anywhere too terrible.'

'Reala!' NiGHTS forgot what was happening long enough to be relieved at hearing his twin's voice. 'You're okay!'

Reala responded with a vicious snarl and threw NiGHTS back into the crater, glaring down at him.

'How sweet!' Jackle exclaimed and started to laugh, drifting closer to NiGHTS' crater. 'Such adorable sibling love! Are you going to hug now?'

'Shut up!' Reala snapped, turning his glare on Jackle for a moment.

NiGHTS' felt his stomach sink as the implications of them both being here started to register. It wasn't just Reala assigned to deal with him anymore. Wizeman was getting serious, just like Owl and Auloris had predicted. Even with a visitor boosting his dream-power, he couldn't beat both Reala and Jackle together.

... Sibling? Alison whispered. ... They... They look like you... Who are they, NiGHTS?

'They're top-ranking Nightmaren,' NiGHTS said in a low monotone. Reala's eyes focused back down on him and Jackle started to laugh louder than before. They couldn't hear Alison when she was dualized with NiGHTS, but they knew who he was talking to.

'Oh go on. Tell the poor thing what you are, NiGHTS,' Reala prompted with a smirk, crossing his arms.

'... Is this going to take all night?' NiGHTS asked, putting on an impatient voice and giving what he hoped was a bored look. 'We had plans, y'know, and it's pretty rude to just drop in unexpected like that.'

You're... one of them? Allison's voice was very small. A Nightmaren?

'He doesn't know what he is,' Jackle snorted and then started snickering through his teeth at some private joke.

'Blah blah blah blah blah!' NiGHTS pushed himself back into the air, and stared them both down. 'Are you trying to talk me to death or what!'

'Oh is death on tonight's schedule?' Jackle cast Reala a hopeful look as he shuffled his deck idly.

Reala turned his head sharply and narrowed his eyes at Jackle, face falling back into a well-practiced glare. 'Capture,' he corrected through clenched teeth.

NiGHTS... Alison mumbled.

'Look, if you don't want to be here, then wake up!' NiGHTS whispered. That would at least put her out of Wizeman's reach, and then NiGHTS would just have to figure out how to get away from Reala and Jackle.

'Sound advice, visitor, I suggest you observe it,' Reala cracked his knuckles for show as Jackle sprang his cards from one hand to the other in an exaggerated arch that was about as concerned with the laws of physics as NiGHTS was.

I... Can I help you, somehow...? Alison asked in a hesitant voice.

NiGHTS smiled softly and nodded. 'You can believe without a doubt that I'm going to win. Don't even worry, I'll mop the floor with these guys.' The truth was that NiGHTS didn't know if he even stood a chance against the two of them, but he made himself sound confident so that Alison would be, because her belief could be the deciding factor.

Reala snorted, 'So you've found one with an ounce of loyalty this time.' He gave an unconcerned shrug. 'It won't make any difference, it's just amusing to see a visitor with stronger convictions than you.'

'It's not risking much,' Jackle said, shuffling and grinning. 'It will loose a bit of beauty-rest and NiGHTS will be gutted. It doesn't take too much loyalty to make that sacrifice. It just wants to prove that it has...' He pulled a card from the deck without looking at it and turned it around to display a red ace. 'A heart.'

...

A/N: So I'm going to completely ignore that part in the JoD beginning tutorial where 'Nightmaren are attacking the Dream Gate!' and for the purposes of this fic the Dream Gate is special and the majority of dream-creatures can't go there because it's like this no-man's-land neutral-zone thing. So that's what that was about. Small note on appearances, the better for imagining, Auloris looks like The Last Unicorn but all glowy.